I currently own 1 vinyl and I would like to purchase a good turntable. My budget is anything less than $160. I would like a record player that doesn't require the use of external stereo speakers. Is it sort of necessary to use external speakers with turntables? Help Me!!

I'm not really into vinyl, but from what I know, you'll get the best results from assembling separate components (turntable, speakers, amp, pre-amp, etc.). Other memebers will know more. If you ever plan on transferring the vinyl to your PC, there is also a USB version of that turntable. Though, I would be more inclined to go with one of the Audio Technica tables.

I currently own 1 vinyl and I would like to purchase a good turntable. My budget is anything less than $160. I would like a record player that doesn't require the use of external stereo speakers. Is it sort of necessary to use external speakers with turntables? Help Me!!

Good and $160 don't work too well in the same sentence regarding vinyl. I'd look for used Thorens, Technics, Dual on eBay or Craig's list. A used receiver, integrated amp or preamp will give you the RIAA phono stage you'll need with a magnetic cartridge. Keep in mind turntables were hundreds of dollars in their day and if you really wanted to keep the discs in good shape you'd buy the best you could afford. Be prepared for some disappointment as vinyl always seems great until you actually live with it. The 'good old days' don't always live up to the hype.

No, you don't need external speakers. However, you do need to plug it into something else, and that's going to cost you more money. If the turntable is a recent model with USB output, it can be plugged right into your computer. USB turntables have a bad reputation due to sound quality issues in the early models, but there are a bunch of options now and maybe the problems have been worked out.

If you get a normal old non-USB turntable, then you have to plug it into something that has "phono" inputs. As mentioned, this could be one of several items:

A phono pre-amp, which is a box with phono inputs and various outputs. It is dedicated to converting the phonograph's weak, strangely EQ'd electrical signal into standard "line"-level outputs. There are nice modern ones that are tiny and have all kinds of outputs, including a headphone jack and USB. Older ones will probably have only RCA line outs, requiring you to connect it to the "line in" connectors (sometimes labeled "CD" "aux" or "tape") on an integrated amp or receiver.

An integrated amplifier, which is a box containing (usually) phono inputs and pre-amp, line inputs, a master pre-amp (with volume knob and basic "tone" or separate bass & treble controls), a power amplifier for driving external speakers, and connectors for speakers. These are not very common, as people generally want a radio and more sound processing features.

A receiver, which is an integrated amp with a radio tuner built in. Also called an "AV receiver" or "home theater receiver". This is what most people who have external speakers have, as there are many affordable options for consumers. A receiver usually comes with the works: every kind of input, remote control, effects processing, surround sound support, you name it. They're often designed for home theater systems; you plug in all your equipment into it and operate it from a single remote. However, ones made in the last 15 years or so often don't have phono inputs, only line, so you have to pair them with a separate phono pre-amp.

So if you're buying a non-USB turntable, and you want to get something new to plug it into, then a cheap phono pre-amp is your best bet. If you're OK with something secondhand, I would get a receiver, as it gives you many options for expanding when you have more money. It sounds like you don't have the budget for it right now, though. You should probably just get a USB turntable.

You also need a cartridge and stylus. A new USB turntable almost certainly will come with both. The stylus is the "needle", the part of the turntable that actually fits into and "reads" the record's spiral groove. The stylus and cartridge work together to convert the groove's physical variations into an electrical signal. The cartridge is what the stylus attaches to; it's a little box hanging off the headshell at the end of the tonearm, normally.

Like I said, ideally, your turntable will come with both, but check to be sure. If buying a turntable secondhand, I'd assume the stylus needs replacement; if it's in bad shape, it can damage your record when you try to play it. Cartridges don't really wear out, but they're only made for certain styluses, so it's normal to buy both at the same time. The best bang for the buck is the Shure M97xE cartridge & stylus combo, which will run you $80 on Amazon. Most cartridges have standard connectors for attaching to the tonearm, though they may require hooking up some wires with tweezers or needle-nose pliers. However, some (many?) USB turntables aren't designed to attach to anything but the cartridge they come with, so research before you buy. Personally, I wouldn't buy a USB turntable if I didn't have the option of attaching my own cartridge to it.

It personally seems crazy you own one vinyl recording and are setting out too buy a deck. If you inherited a massive archive then I may see a benefit.

It's like me being given a single wax cyliner, 8 track, MD or Reel to Reel, and going out to find a decent player for it, for what is esentially a dying format.

Just curious what you reasoning is behind it, that's all Each to their own, and I loved the idea of vinyl when I used too be into it 15 years ago, but just starting out now....I don't get it :S

Vinyl is not dying, far from it. It's the fastest growing audio format in terms of % sales growth (not outright numbers). CD optical discs are dying, and dying at a far greater rate than vinyl LPs (compare the solid decline in total sales for CDs over the past 5 years). So, if you're going to say vinyl LPs are a dying format, at least correct yourself and include CDs in that list (as well as SACD and DVD-A for that matter).

As to the OP, as someone else said, $160 and quality/good don't belong in the same sentence. You will not do justice to the LP format with such a cheap setup.

It is true that to get a comparable performance between LP and CD, you need to spend a lot more money on the vinyl setup than you would on CD. I think many people who criticise the LP format do so because they've never heard a top flight turntable setup, coupled to a very good pressing.

Yes, you can get impressive growth numbers going from "very small" to "still very small".

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CD optical discs are dying

Yes, they are, but the digital audio formats that used to be delivered on CDs are taking up the slack. Not vinyl.

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if you're going to say vinyl LPs are a dying format, at least correct yourself and include CDs in that list (as well as SACD and DVD-A for that matter)

I would definitely agree with that - but it is still no argument to get a player for just one or two records.

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It is true that to get a comparable performance between LP and CD, you need to spend a lot more money on the vinyl setup than you would on CD. I think many people who criticise the LP format do so because they've never heard a top flight turntable setup, coupled to a very good pressing.

I think you would be rather hard pressed to get "comparable performance" from vinyl, at least if we are talking about conventional attributes such as distortion and signal-to-noise ratio / dynamic range.

You are buying into old-skool audiophile technology. Collecting and playing with vinyl records and vinyl hardware is fun for many reasons, not just technical.

To completely relegate Vinyl to the dustbin of history, the people who designed the Audio CD nearly got it right . . . but, they ignored some things which had nothing to do with technical superiority or convenience. Including "+5 Reading Glasses" with every CD sold is one (sarcastic) example. Thus vinyl will live on . . .

If I was the O.P. , I would completely forget about asking questions from people on the internet.

I would get on my bike and find out about all the real things going on in my city . . . people . . . businesses . . . communities . . . clubs . . . friendly audiophiles suffering from borderline autism . . . an obscure hi-fi repair guy with a shop crammed full of electronic junk and disassembled vinyl turntables in various states of repair . . . a semi-retired friendly old man who once worked as curator of the "National Sound Archives" but now runs a little shop selling second-hand records and vintage turntables . . . Go to Recycle/Oppportunity/Charity Shops all over town and snoop around until you eventually run into "wow, look at this turntable for $20" . . . Go to the next meeting of the "YOUR_CITY Audio Club"